Are there any pending bills in the US Congress intended to remedy the nursing shortage?
A. There are no bills that reach the floor of either house of Congress. Nursing associations are very active in lobbying for programs that are intended to solve the nursing shortage. On January 6, 2005, a bill known as the Rural and Urban Health Care Act of 2005 was introduced in the House of Representatives. It is intended to change the requirements for H-1C non-immigrant requirements by, among others, (1) substantially increasing the total number of available H-1C visas and (2) increasing the type of qualifying employer facilities. This bill is in the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives. Note that the Nurse Reinvestment Act of 2002 was signed by President Bush in August 2, 2002. It was a response to the national nursing shortage. It was designed to encourage people to enter and remain in nursing careers. The law establishes nursing scholarships, loan repayments, geriatric training grants, and loan cancellation for nursing faculty. Proposals for increasing the H-1B quo
